Euronews

Turkish police say tens of thousands of Kurds came out onto the streets of Diyarbakir on Thursday to mourn at the funeral of three Kurdish activists who were murdered in Paris last week.

Their execution-style killings came at a time when Ankara was holding its first peace talks with the PKK, with whom it has been at war for the last 30 years. Some say the killings were designed to disrupt that process.

But hopes of an end to the war are high.

“Everyone here supports peace. We want an end to the bloodshed.”

“I call on the prime minister and his deputies, to stop this bloodshed.”

“I hope peace will come; this is a process, I hope that peace will come,” were the opinions of three men at the funeral.

There were minor scuffles with police and water cannon was used on some groups of protesters, but there was no serious violence.

After a funeral ceremony that attributed great importance to the peace process, in Diyarbakır, many wonder eagerly how both sides, the PKK and Turkish government, will manage the ongoing peace process.